Emptying empire

THE latest issue of Mirror, a monthly pro-China magazine, contains an attack on colonialism in Hong Kong. Not - as might be expected - British colonialism, but rather the extensive influence of the United States, which Beijing fears will linger on after the handover.

Continuing British influence does not seem to be a concern. China may sometimes find it useful to pretend otherwise, as part of its tirades against Governor Chris Patten. But the reality is that it can be ignored - just as easily as Beijing ignores Mr Patten himself.

It is not because Americans now outnumber Britons in Hong Kong (29,500 to 24,600, according to the Immigration Department's latest count). Nor is it because, while Hong Kong people are rushing to acquire US and Canadian passports, they are renouncing British nationality - although the Immigration Department claims to only know of six such cases - and are showing little enthusiasm for an offer of free UK passports, with some sections of the British nationality scheme under-subscribed.

The real reason is that, while US officials in Hong Kong and Washington have begun making increasingly threatening statements about how closely they are watching China's handling of the territory, no one any longer bothers to pretend that Britain remains an influential force in its colony.

In London, some may still have trouble coming to terms with this: former defence minister Alan Clark explains in his memoirs how he incredulously protested that British companies were not automatically favoured for contracts in their last major colony.

But, in Hong Kong, any past deference has been replaced by a feeling of pride that comes from having an average annual income 40 per cent higher than in the UK.